Article-handling hoist and conveyer



Feb. 10, 1953 M. A. THOMPSON ARTICLE-HANDLING HOIST AND CONVEYER 2SHEETS-SHEET l 1 N V EN TOR. MFl-Rump BY v mm a km Nil Qw Filed Feb. 23,1950 Feb. 10, 1953 M. A. THOMPSON ARTICLE-HANDLING I-IOIST AND CONVEYER2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed Feb. 23, 1950 INVENTOR.

Patented Feb. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 15 Claims.

This invention relates to an article-handling apparatus and moreparticularly to an apparatus or machine for use in handling rugs in adrying room in a rug-cleaning establishment.

It is known in the rug-cleaning art to provide means for hoisting rugsto an elevated track so that the rugs may be suspended in a drying roomfor drying after being washed. Known apparatus of this type comprisesessentially some form of hoist-usually manually operatedfor elevatingthe rugs. The track means is relatively long so that several rugs may besuspended therefrom in spaced relation, with sufficient spacetherebetween to allow circulation of warm air. Spacing of the rugs onthe tracks has heretofore usually been accomplished manually. Sincerugs, particularly those that are wet from being scrubbed or washed, arequite heavy the manual labor involved is correspondingly arduous.Further than this, the use of hoisting means involving ropes and snatchblocks is apt to be dangerous to personnel working in the drying room.Additionally, the necessity for manual operation requires personnelwithin the drying room under conditions not exactly beneficial tohealth.

According to the present invention, the foregoing and otherdisadvantages of known handling apparatus have been eliminated by theprovision of a fully automatic apparatus including powerdriven hoistmeans and power-driven intermitn tently operative advancing means formoving the rugs along elevated track means after the rugs aretransferred from the elevating means to the track means. It is animportant object of the invention to provide an apparatus adapted forinstallation substantially entirely within a drying room, whereby theattention of personnel within the drying room is not needed except in anemergency or in the event that it is desired to drop a rug out ofsequence.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plurality ofcoordinated handling means including elevating means for raising therugs to a desired height from which they may be suspended, track meansat the desired height from which the rugs may be suspended in properlyspaced relation, means for successively advancing rugs along the trackmeans by power derived from the elevating means, and lowering meanspositioned at the discharge end of the track means to successivelyreceive the endmost rug as the advancing means is operated in responseto the presence of a new rug on the elevating means.

Among other objects of the invention are the provision of a simplifiedand inexpensive apparatus, one in which the component parts are ofsimple design and susceptible to easy fabrication and installation, andan apparatus that requires little skill and attention for the operationthereof and little, if any, maintenance, thus materially contributing tothe lowering of costs in the rugprocessing art.

The foregoing and other important objects and desirable featuresinherent in and encompassed by the invention will become apparent tothose versed in the art as a complete disclosure of a preferredembodiment of the invention is made in the following detaileddescription and accompanying sheets of drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the rughandling apparatus withportions in the foreground removed to illustrate better the details ofconstruction.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figurel.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view, on a reduced scale, taken onthe line 3--3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the rug-carryingmembers.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure4 and showing in full lines the normal position of the member and indotted lines the released position of the member.

Although the present invention is illustrated in connection with itsembodiment in apparatus for the handling of rugs, it will be appreciatedthat various of the principles thereof will find utility in the handlingof other articles. Accordingly, the disclosure should be taken asillustrative and not limiting except as defined in the claims appendedhereto.

The drawings show the apparatus installed in a drying room having aceiling C, a floor F, an end wall EW (Figure l) and opposite side wallsSW (Figures 2 and 3) utilized to support or suspend the track members.

In the drawings, the overall length of the track members has beenforeshortened so that the drawing could be prepared on a larger scale.It will be understood that these members may be of any desired length.Each track member has a discharge portion 14 at one end thereof and areceiving portion I B at its other end. The members are parallel and arespaced transversely apart and lie in a substantially horizontal plane.

Elevating means comprising a pair of conveyor elements such as endlessbelts or chains I8 operate respectively in transversely spaced apartupright planes spaced apart a greater distance than the transversespacing between the track members l0, so that the elevating belts orchains lie respectively outside the track members (Figure 2) andadjacent the receiving ends 16 of the track members. The belt or chainof each elevating conveyor is trained at its upper end about a rotatableelement in the form of a wheel or sprocket 2i jo-urnaled on a stub shaft22 carried by an appropriate bearing in the proximate side wall of thedrying room. The'short shafts 22 are coaxial on an axis that liesgenerally in the plane of the upper edges of the track members l0. Asbest seen in Figure 2, the wheels 20 are widely spaced apart and thereis no shaft between them.

The lower end of eachchain or belt is trained about a driving member orsmall sprocket 24.

These sprockets are, of course, respectively be low and in verticalalinement with the wheels 20 and are keyed. to a continuousdriving shaft26' that extends across the drying room just above the floor F. Adriving sprocket 28 is keyed to one outer end of the shaft 26 forreceiving power from an input sprocket 30 as by means of a belt or chain32. The sprocket 30.. may be. appropriately driven from any suitablesource of power, the details of which are not important and have nottherefore been illustrated.

It will be noted that the disposition. of each.

elevating or hoisting conveyor 18 is such that onerun thereof operatesupwardly in the direcment. therewith along the path just outlined a Thislug'is connecti.--

driving member or lug 34a ble or disconnectible from. driving meansassociated with advancing means for the track members in a manner to bepresently described.

Referring now particularly to Figure 1, it will a be seen that aplurality of rugs Rare suspended from the track members H1 through themedium of aplurality of individual .articleor rug-carrying means, eachof which. includes a. trans.- verse bar ormember 36 and. a support 38 inthe form of a hook having a roller Mthereon adapted. toroll along the.upper edge of the proximate track, there being a pair of such supports38 for each bar 36, as shown in Figure 2. The: details of the carryingbars may be passed'over for the moment.

The advancing means referred to above comprises a pair of elongatedslides 42 slidably carried adjacent opposite ends by a pair of hangers44 suspended from the ceiling C. These slides are spaced apart on theorder. of the spacing of the tracks andv are disposed respectively abovethe tracks. These slides are cross connected by a transverse member 46for movement as a unit.. The transverse member has depending ears 48-respectively lying in planes just inside the upright planes in which theelevating belts [8 cperate. The slides are movable at times in anadvancing directionindicated by the arrow E in Figure. land arereturnable inthe opposite. di.

rection as indicated by the arrow G. A pair of tension springs 50, onefor each slide 42, is connected between the advancing means and theproximate slide hangers 44 to normally bias the slides in the directionG.

The rug supports 36-40 are uniformly spaced lengthwise along the trackmembers I0, having achieved this position by virtue of article-advancingmembers in the form of pawls 52 forming part oftheadvancing means. Thereare two sets of pawls, one for each slide and each track member. Eachpawl is pivoted at one end at 54 to its slide 42 and extends downwardlyand in a direction of advance to engage ahead of the roller 49 of aproximate rug bar. The pawls rest by their own weight on top of thetrack mem bers 10 in the positions of Figure 1.

It is an important feature of the invention to drive the advancing means42-52 intermittently from the elevating means I8-l8. For this purpose,the driving members or lugs 34 are. selectively connectible with anddisconnectible from drive means including a pair of drivenmembers 56,each pivotally connected at one end at 58 to one of the ears 48 on thetransverse slide-connecting member 46. These driven members aretherefore relatively closely proximate to the wheels 20. Each drivingmember is elongated and is resiliently supported at its opposite end bya tension spring 60 connected between that end and a suitable bracket62. attached to the ceiling. The springs 60 provide means for normallypositioning the driven members 56 out of the paths of movement of thedriving. members 34 as these'membersare carried about the wheels 20. Asbest seen in. Figure 1, although the driving member will engage thebottom edge of the driven member 56, it will merely raise and then lowerthe driven member. Driving connection between. the members 34 and 5.6 isnot established until the driven member 56 is lowered sufficiently toplace in the path of the driving member 34 a driving portion or notch64. When thesev two members become engaged in driving relationship,movement of the lugs 34 generally in. the direction of the arrow B willoperate through the driven members 56 to advance. the slides toward theright or in the direction of the. arrow E. The pawls will respectively3dr vance the rug-carrying supports 3640.

The actuating means for effecting the driving relationship between thedriving members 34 and driven members 56 comprises a pair of actuatmgmembers 66 pivoted on transversely alined horizontal axes 68 relativelyremotefrom the up-. per portions of the elevating means l8l8.Thelef-t-hand end of each member 66 is connected by a rod or link 70 anda tension spring 12 to the free end of the proximate driven member '56..

It will thus be seen that rocking of the element 66 in the direction ofthe arrow H (Figure 1) will move the driven member Sit-downwardly sothat the driving portion or notch 64 is in position to from. engagementwith such chain or belt. In; other words, the elements it are spacedrespec-;

tively inwardly of. the chains or belts H3. Hence, these chains or beltsmay operate without effecting any operation of the advancing means42-52;

Each chain i8 has pivoted thereto at It an article-carrying pocketmember "('3 preferably;

shaped as shown in Figures 1 and 2. These pocket members aretransversely alined and are spaced apart transversely a greater distancethan the transverse spacing between the actuating elements 66.Therefore, the pocket members may move upwardly with the chains withoutaffecting the actuating elements 66.

The characteristic just described is an important feature of theinvention, for it may be desired to allow the elevating conveyors l8 tooperate continuously, yet it would be undesirable to operate theadvancing means. Operation of the actuating means comprising theactuating elements 66 is eiiected only by the presence of a rug-carryingbar 36 sup-ported at its opposite ends between the pocket members 18.This will be clearly evident from an examination of the drawings,wherein it will be seen that each bar 36 is sufiiciently long to extendcompletely across between the pocket members 18. Hence the controlportions 14 of the elements 66, although not effected by movement of thepocket members 78, are directly in the path of upward movement of arug-carrying bar carried by the pocket members. Another feature of theinvention is the location of the driving members 34 well in advance ofthe rugbar-carrying pocket members 18. This arrangement enables theactuating elements 66 to be operated by a carried rug bar at a pointrelatively remote from the receiving end portions It of the trackmembers 10. In Figure l, the numeral 8U designates a platform on which arug may be placed preliminary to loading thereof in the pocket members78 by means of a bar 36. As the elevating conveyors move upwardly, thefull Weight or load of the picked up rug is partly supported by theplatform 88 and a major portion of the power capable of beingtransmitted by the elevating means is available for driving theadvancing means, enabling the use of a smaller motor as the source ofinitial power. As the carried bar 35 is moved upwardly the elements 68are moved through appreciable angles. However, the tension springs 12allow the elements 55 to overrun, since at about the point of departureof the rug-carrying bar from the control portion M, the driving members3'4 are completing the advancing movement of the advancing means. Afterthe rug bar passes the control portion 74, and after the driving members34 become disconnected again from the driven members, the driven membersand control elements resume their normal positions as shown in Figure 1.

As'the elevated rug bar is carried by the chains or belts I8, it followsthe path defined by the wheels 20, these wheels serving as guideportions within a transfer zone including the upper portions of thewheels and the receiving end portions of the track members [0. It willbe seen that the rug bar as carried by the pocket members may move aboutthe upwardly curved receiving portions it and thence downwardly onto theupper edges of the track members I 0 to assume the position of the firstrug at the left in Figure 1. The wheels function in the manner of theso-called Ferris wheel movement in this respect. The

rollers ll) on the rug bar being so transferred easily pass under theproximate pawls 52 to 0G- cupy the position indicated. The pocketmembers l6are constructed as shown and are therefore downwardlyreleasable from the ends of the rug bar as the pocket members arecarried downof operations just described is repeated each time a rug ismanually loaded onto the pocket members I8.

As the advancing means 42-42 operates in response to the presence of arug bar on the elevating means 18, the endmost rug at the righthand ordischarge ends of the track members [0 is pushed oif to be received bylowering means indicated in its entirety by the numeral 8|. This meanscomprises a transverse member 82 appropriately slidably carried at eachof its opposite may be of any construction and the details of arepresentative form of which are believed to be clear without furtherdescription. The counterweighted means 8i provides for gently lowering.

the discharged rug to the floor F, where it may be transported away byany convenient method.

Stop means, as indicated in representative fashion at 90 in Figure 1,may be provided to fix the retracted position of the advancing slides42.

Each rug-carrying bar 36 is preferably constructed as shown in Figures 4and 5. The bar has secured along its lower edge portion a plurality(preferably two) of hinge means 92, the pivot axes 94 of which arealined and parallel to the lower edge of the member. One portion of thehinge is secured to the member and the other portion is secured to thebottom of the hook or support 38. As previously described, each support38 extends upwardly and then forwardly and made in the event that it isdesired to drop a carrying the roller 4%.

I positions.

behind the support hooks 38. .then drop by its own weight to the dottedline then upwardly again beyond the upper edge of the member 36, theupper portion of each support the member 36 and is slidably carriedthereon by a pair of bearing straps 98 for shifting movement back andforth between retaining and releasing The bar 96 passes between the rearface of themember 36 and the front portions of the supports 38 and hasthereon a pair of releasable or disconnectible hook portions I 00 which,when the bar is in its retaining position, hook behind the hookedsupports 38, The bar 96 is biased in retaining position by a spring ml(Figure 2). A control member W2 is pivoted at I64 adjacent one end ofthe bar 3% and is in the form of a bell crank having a pivotalconnection I06 with the proximate end of the bar 98. An opening I08 isprovided in the other arm of the bellcrank of the member I32. It will beseen that rocking of the member I O2 in the direction of the arrow J inFigure 5 will shift the bar 96 to the left and will withdraw the releasehooks 60 from The bar 36 will position shown in Figure 5.

The upper edge of the member 36 is provided With article-engaging means,here in the form of a plurality of pointed pins l I!) which are adaptedto pierce the edge portion of a rug as suggested in Figures 1 and 2.When the member 36 is in itsretained position, the rug is appropriatelysuspended. When the bar 95. is shifted by means of the rockable memberI62 the added weight of the rug causes the member 36 to drop to itsdischarge position, the rug falling off of the pins H0 and dropping tothe floor. This provision is rug out of sequence. The operator may reachA release bar arallels 7. up with a-pole having :a hook; at one end forengagement with the opening H38 in the release member [02.

The operation of the apparatus has been brought out in connection withthe description and it is believed that all the important aspectsthereof are sufficiently set forth so as to demonstrate the achievementof the objects and features first set forth herein. Other objects andfeatures not specifically enumerated will undoubtedly occur to thoseversed in the art, as likewise will numerous modifications andalterations, all of which may be achieved without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for handling rugs or like articles, comprising: supportmeans including a pair of generally horizontal track members disposed intransversely spaced apart parallel relationship above the ground orfloor and having receiving ends and discharge ends; transfer meansincluding a pair of coaxial wheels respectively rotatable in parallelupright planes spaced apart a greater distance than the spacing betweenthe track members so that the wheels are respectively outside andadjacent to the receiving ends of the track members; elevating meansincluding a pair of upwardly moving elements spaced apart transverselyon the order of the spacing of the wheels and having upper portionsguided by the wheels toward the receiving ends of the track members,each pair of elements having a carrier movable upwardly therewith, saidcarriers being transversely alined and adapted to receive opposite endsof a transverse bar on which a rug or like article is carried, saidcarriers being guided by the wheels for transfer of such transverse barto the receiving ends of the track members; advancing means movablelengthwise of the track members in opposite directions away from andtoward the wheels and engageable with a portion of such transverse baron the track members when moving away from the wheels but adapted tooverrun such bar portion when returning toward the wheels; operatingmeans for moving the advancing means away from the wheels; means forreturning the advancing means toward the wheels; drive means connectedto the operating means and connectible with and disconnectible from theelevating means; means normally effecting disconnection of the drivemeans from the elevating means; and actuating means for effectingconnection of the drive means and the elevating means, including acontrol element positinned between the elevating elements so as to befree from the elevating elements but arranged to be engaged by atransverse bar between the carriers for effecting connection or thedrive means and the elevating means.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that: theelevating elements comprise a pair of endless flexible elementsrespectively trained about said wheels.

3. The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that: theactuating means is located at a lower portion of the elevating means,and the drive connection of the drive means and the elevating meansoccurs at an upper portion of the elevating means so that actuation ofthe advancing means by the elevating means is effected before theelevating means has the full load thereon of such transverse bar and arug carried thereby.

L-The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that;lowering means is positioned at the discharge ends of the track membersto receive a transverse bar discharged from the track members by theadvancing means.

5. Apparatus of the class described, comprising: means providing a trackalong which articles may be moved, said track having an articlereceivingportion and an article-discharge portion spaced apart lengthwisethereof; normally idle advancing means movable lengthwise along thetrack in an advancing direction from the receiving portion to thedischarge portion and in a return direction opposite to the advancingdirection, said advancing means including a plurality ofarticle-engaging elements spaced apart lengthwise as respects the trackfor engaging individual articles spaced lengthwise along the track andfor moving such articles successively along the track toward thedischarge portion of the track, said elements being so constructed andarranged as to overrun such articles upon movement of the advancingmeans in said return direction, article-delivery means for movingarticles to the receiving portion of the track means from a locationrelatively remote from said receiving portion, said delivery meanshaving article-carrying means movable past said receiving portion inarticle-transfer relationship thereto; driving means selectivelyconnectible and disconnectible between thedelivery means and theadvancing means and normally disconnected so that the delivery means mayoperate while the advancing means is idle; and actuating means foreffecting connection of the drive means to drive the advancing meansfrom the delivery means, said actuating means including a controlelement in proximity to but free from engagement with thearticle-carrying means and engagealole and operative only by an articlecarried by said articlecarrying means.

6. Apparatus of the class described, comprising: means providing a trackalong which articles may be moved, said track having anarticle-receiving portion and an article-discharge portion spaced apartlengthwise thereof; normally idle advancing means movable lengthwisealong the track in an advancing direction from the re ceiving portion tothe discharge portion and including an article-engaging element forengaging and moving such article along the track toward the dischargeportion of the track; article-delivery means for moving articles to thereceiving portion of the track means from a location relatively remotefrom said receiving portion, said delivery means having article-carryingmeans movable past said receivin portion in articletransfer relationshipthereto; driving means selectively connectible and disconnectiblebetween the delivery means and the advancing means and normallydisconnected so that the delivery means may operate while the advancingmeans is idle; and actuating means for effecting connection of the drivemeans to drive the advancing means from the delivery means, saidactuating means including a control element in proximity to but freefrom engagement with the article-carrying means and engageable andoperative only by an article carried by said article-carrying means.

7. Apparatus of the class described, comprising: means providing a trackalong which articles may be moved, said track having anarticle-receiving portion and an article-discharge portion spaced apartlengthwise thereof; normally idle advancing means movable lengthwisealong the track in anadvancing direction from the receiv- 9 ing portionto the discharge portion and including an article-engaging element forengaging and moving such article along the track toward the dischargeportion of the track; article-delivery meansfor moving articles to thereceiving portion of the track means from a location relatively remotefrom said receiving portion, said delivery means having article-carryingmeans movable past said receiving portion in article-transferrelationship thereto; driving means selectively connectible anddisconnectible between the delivery means and the advancing means andnormally disconnected so that the delivery means may operate while theadvancing means is idle; and actuating means for effecting connection ofthe drive means to drive the advancing means from the delivery means,said actuating means including a control element in proximity to butfree from engagement with the article-carrying means at a portion of thedelivery means relatively remote from the track and engageable andoperative only by :an article carried by said article-carrying means andmoved thereby past said relatively remote portion, for effecting saiddrive connection well prior totransfer of such varticle to the track.

. ing: a pair of conveyor elements operative in upright parallel planesspaced transversely apart and respectively having transversely alinedupper portions defining a transfer zone at which the belts changedirection from upward movement to generally horizontal movement, and anarticle carrier on each belt movable with said conveyor element, saidcarriers being transversely alined and spaced apart and adapted toreceive and carry an article therebetween to elevate such article tosaid transfer zone and thereat to move such article generallyhorizontally; track means extending generally horizontally from saidtransfer zone in the direction of said generally horizontal movement ofthe article carriers, and having an article-receiving portion in saidzone; means cooperative between the conveyor elements and the receivingportion of the track means for eifecting transfer of an article from thearticle carriers to said receiving portion; advancing means operative tomove such article along the track means away from the transfer zone; and

means operative in response to the presence of o a subsequent article onthe conveyor elements for operating the advancing means to advance aprior article on said track means.

9. Apparatus of the class described, comprising: a pair of elevatingmeans operative in upright parallel planes spaced transversely apart andrespectively having transversely alined upper portions defining atransfer zone at which the elevating means change direction from upwardmovement to generally horizontal movement, and an article carrier oneach elevating means movable with said elevating means, said carriersbeing transversely alined and spaced apart and adapted to receive andcarry an article therebetween to elevate such article to said transferzone and thereat to move such article generally horizontally; trackmeans extending generally horizontally from said transfer zone in thedirection of said generally horizontal movement of the article carriers,and having an article-receiving portion in said zone; means cooperativebetween the elevating means and the receiving portion of the track meansfor effecting transfer of an article from the article carriers to saidreceiving portion; advancing means operative to move such 10 articlealong the track means away from the transfer zone; and means operativein response to the presence of a subsequent article on the elevatingmeans for operating the advancing means to advance a prior article onsaid track means.

10. Apparatus of the class described, comprising: article-delivery meansmovable in a defined path toward an article-transfer zone;articlesupporting means extending away from said transfer zone andhaving an article-receiving portion in said zone; means on said deliverymeans for carrying an article for delivery to said transfer zone and fortransfer to said articlesupporting means; advancing means associatedwith the article-supporting means and engageable with an article thereonto advance such article; normally disconnected drive means for operatingsaid advancing means; and means for effecting connection of said drivemeans in response to the presence on said delivery means of a subsequentarticle.

11. Apparatus of the class described, comprising: track means extendinggenerally horizontally and having a receiving portion and adischarge'portion spaced apart lengthwise thereof; article-deliverymeans including an endless element running in an upright plane, and awheel proximate to the receiving portion of the track and around whichthe element is trained so that as the element passes around said wheelit moves generally lengthwise of the track means; articlecarrying meanson the element and movable therewith and about the wheel to carry anarticle to said receiving portion, said article-carrying means beingreleasable from such article for effecting transfer of such article tothe track means; advancing associated with the track means for engagingan article thereon and for moving such article toward the discharge endof the track means; drive means between the element and the advancingmeans, including a driving mem- 'ber movable with the element and adriven member connected to the advancing means; means mounting thedriven member for selective movement into or out of the path of thedriving member; means normally positioning the driven member out of thepath of the driving member; and actuating means for moving the drivenmember into the path of the driving member, including a control portionprojecting in proximity to and free from engagement with said elementbut arranged to be engaged and moved by an article carried by saidarticle-carrying means.

12. Apparatus of the class described, comprising: article-supportingmeans along which articles may be moved; advancing means associated withsaid supporting means for intermittently moving such articles; movablearticle-delivery means having an article-carrying element movabletherewith for receiving and carrying an article to and for transferringsuch article to the supporting means, said delivery means includingguide means for directing the delivery means in a path first toward,then along and then away from the track means for transferring sucharticle to the track means; a driving member on the delivery meansmovable in said path; a driven member connected to the advancing meansand selectively positionable into or out of that portion of said path inwhich the driving member moves along the track means, and actuatingmeans normally effecting positioning of the driven member out of saidpath portion when the delivery means operates without an article on saidl1 article-carrying element, said actuating means including a controlportion in the path of such carried article for effecting positioning ofthe driven member into the path of the driving member.

13. The invention defined in claim 12, further characterized in that:the driving member is positioned on the delivery means in advance of thearticle carrying element so that driving engagement between the drivingand driven members to move the advancing means occurs while thearticle-carrying element is in that portion of said path leading towardthe track means.

14. Apparatus of the class described, comprising: means providing atrack along which articles may be moved, said track having anarticlereceiving portion and an article-discharge portion spaced apartlengthwise thereof; intermittently operative advancing means movablelengthwise along the track in an advancing direction from the receivingportion to the discharge portion and including an article-engagingelement for engaging and moving such article along the track toward thedischarge portion of the track; article-delivery means for movingarticles to the receiving portion of the track means and havingarticle-carrying means movable past said receiving portion in articletransfer relationship thereto; driving means selectively connectible toand disconnectible from the advancing means and normally disconnected sothat the delivery 12 means may operate independently of the advantaingmeans; and actuating means for efiecting connection of the drive meansto drive the advancin means and including a control element free fromengagement with the article-carrying means and engageable and operativeonly by an article carried by said article-carrying means,

15. The invention defined in claim 14, in which: the control element isso positioned and arranged as to effect connection of the drive means tothe advancing means well prior to transfer of an article from thedelivery means to the track.

MARTIN A. THOMPSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 11,989 Livingston May 13,1902 368,975 Sanders Aug. 30, 1887 783,789. Johnson Feb. 28, 1905851,122 Duensing Apr. 23, 1907 1,027,111 Dwight May 21, 1912 1,415,688Pade May 9, 1922 1,422,816 Beers July 18, 1922 1,460,448 Shampay' July3, 1923 1,584,889 Peebles May 18, 1926 1,923,663 Coda Aug. 22, 1933

